How to Get Free Wi-Fi at Airports That Charge for Internet Connections

If you're stuck at an airport that charges for Internet connections, here's a solution: Go to the gift shop and ask for a a free Wi-Fi pass.

That's what happened to me last week. I was in LaGuardia Airport and my flight — surprise, surprise — was delayed. I decided to use that gift of time to check my e-mail and do a little bit of work.

So I charged up the laptop and tried to go online. No luck. The airport offered a pay-as-you-go system called Boingo and I was not able to hitch a ride on any of the other unsecured Wi-Fi systems. (See also: 8 Frequently Under-Budgeted Air Travel Costs)

But while looking at the Boingo pay-now portal, I noticed that there was slot for a promotional code. HMMM?

Minutes later in the gift shop, I saw a stack of "15 minutes Free Wi-Fi" coupons from Boingo. Boingo provides Wi-Fi at over 500 airports, 17,000 hotels (Marriott, Hilton, etc.) and 9,000 McDonald's.

Hmm. The clerk gave me a Boingo card and I sat down to log on for free minutes.

The promotional code did not work, but I called the tech support number and the Boingo customer rep offered me a complimentary code that would get me online while I was waiting for my flight.

That did the trick. My flight was called and I had no need for the free pass. But I learned the following lessons:

Inquire about free Internet passes at the airport gift shops.

If there are no passes, go to the fee-based Wi-Fi portal (website) and look for a toll-free number. Ask the customer rep for a promotional code that will provide you with free minutes.

By the way, the customer service number for Boingo is 1-800-880-4117. I'm keeping that number with me when I travel.

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This was a great tip, I wish I knew this when I used to travel back and forth during my consulting days.

I did have some tricks of my own from when I used to do consulting. Most airline reward/membership programs which offer customers lounge access also provide free wifi to the customers from within the lounge area. One of the things I constantly had good luck with was almost all the time my gate was always near one of these president's club or lounge. Sitting near these areas, I was able to pick up the free Wifi signal offered by them.

While I have no problem asking a business for a free trial, to do so repeatedly without ever intending to pay for their service seems dishonest to me. A free trial is a contract: "Try our product, and if you like it, please consider a long-term arrangement." If you're not willing to do the latter, you shouldn't do the former, IMO.

I can't tell you how many times I've been stuck in an airport refusing to pay for service... especially Hartsfield in Atlanta, but also Texas in a few others. I hope they all have these sorts of promotions!

Great tips - thanks! I tend to spend a fair bit of time in airports, and have a marathon trip next month that will take me 36 hours in all, with a number of layovers in airports. I'll try this out myself, and report back!

We were stuck in Atlanta during what turned out to be a 7 hour "layover" on our way home from Mexico. So I attempted to kill some time by purchasing a Boingo wi-fi day pass. Within 30 minutes I was blocked from their wi-fi for 'excessive' connections, despite me just browsing news websites. I attempted all fixes on my end before calling customer service. I ended up being stuck in the initial queue for like 30 minutes before I gave up and went back to the "old fashioned" airport time killer -- reading.

Looking for free wifi in public area is not secure. Be careful when you are connected to public area. Avoid to use free internet connection in public area to do electronic transaction, such bank payment, etc.